Written by Caden Harder, San Ramon Footwear Staffer
& Jared Williams, Berkeley Footwear Manager

Saucony has come out with a brand new model that promises to give you a fast and energetic ride with the added bonus of a structured stability frame to support your heel and arch. The Tempus is one of Saucony’s newest road running shoes to feature their signature PWRRUN PB foam, designed for optimal energy return so that you can keep going at your best. The contoured PWRRUN frame gives the shoe added structure, making it perfect for runners who are looking for that faster stability shoe.

The Tempus’s stability frame uses a different strategy at tackling the issue of built in support. Instead of placing the firm stability material on the outside of the sole, the Tempus’s frame starts at the heel, and encapsulates the foot on both sides, as opposed to just the outside. This keeps your foot centered in the shoe for the long run, while still providing you with the support of a traditional stability shoe. The upper mesh used in the Tempus is also composed of recycled material, so you can run better knowing that your footprint isn’t only lighter on the road, but also on the planet.

 
ROUND ONE REVIEWS

 
Caden's first run:

To give an adequate review of the Tempus, I obviously had to run in them. I wanted to start with something that would give an accurate depiction of the Tempus’s performance on a generic road surface, so I started with the one and only Iron Horse Trail. I did a one-way run starting at our store location in San Ramon, and heading north down the trail for 5 miles. I also chose to start my run right before golden hour, as having a pretty sky to look at when you run is always nice! Starting in the afternoon also means that the temperature is a bit lower, which has definitely been a luxury these past few weeks. On a generic road surface, the Tempus performed perfectly. The outsole has just the right amount of rubber to give the shoe a nice grip of pavement, and the springiness of the foam made the run feel much easier, and remarkably enjoyable overall.
 

Jared's first run:

I’m working up to the Berkeley Half Marathon coming up this fall and took out the Tempus for a couple of my training runs around the Bay Shore in Alameda. The first was an easy pace recovery run the day after a hard workout. I was a little bit tired, and the stability of the Tempus provided just a little extra help to keep my body aligned when my form wasn’t great. The cushion from the midsole was perfect for protecting my tired legs.
 
 

ROUND TWO REVIEWS

 
Caden's second run:

For my next run, I decided to choose a much more unconventional route. While the Tempus is a road running shoe, I decided to go wild and take it on the Forgotten Trail in the Lime Ridge Open Space. After struggling to find parking for a while, I took them on a 3 mile loop starting at the north end of the trail, and I was pleasantly surprised.

While it should be noted that running on road felt much nicer and easier than on the dirt trails of Lime Ridge, the all encompassing stability frame really came in clutch, as I felt that it helped me balance easier on the uneven terrain of the trail. As a side note, a good chunk of Lime Ridge is closed due to potential fire hazards at the moment, so be sure to plan around that for any runs you may want to do here.
 

Jared's second run:

My next run was a workout where the goal was to do some speed work with higher paced intervals. Going faster in a heavier shoe can be a lot of extra effort and this is where the Tempus really stood out. The lighter weight of the shoe and extra bounce from the midsole made going faster a lot of fun. The Tempus is simply an extremely fun and versatile stability shoe.
 
 

FINAL NOTES

 
Caden's notes:

After getting my hands on a pair, the Tempus quickly became one of my favorite shoes. The Tempus fit perfectly true to size for me, fitting nice and snug without ever feeling too tight or too loose. The upper felt very secure while still being noticeably breathable, and the placement of the added support in the arch was positioned perfectly on my foot. The use of the PWRRUN PB foam in the Tempus gave it a much different feel than most other stability shoes. While most stability shoes use a form of “cushioning” foam, the PWRRUN PB foam has a distinct springy feel to it, which definitely sets it apart from other midweight stability shoes currently on the market. I never noticed any hotspots or discomfort during my runs with the Tempus, and even after giving the shoe a nice waterproofing spray coat, it was still plenty breathable, and my feet never felt like they were overheating.

As for the down sides of the Tempus, I’ve noticed that the PWRRUN PB foam can be a tad delicate. After one of my runs, I was a tad lazy when taking off the shoes, and tried sliding off the shoes by stepping on the heel (you should never do this regardless of the shoe). I ended up pulling off some of the foam on the heel of one of the shoes, and while this didn’t affect the performance of the shoe in any way, it did make me more cautious when handling the shoes in the future.
 

Jared's notes:

The Saucony Tempus is an exciting new shoe bringing fun back into the stability category known for heavy and stiff shoes. The Tempus is light and has a bouncy midsole that makes it great for all kinds of training runs while providing extra guidance to keep your knees and ankles aligned.

Its lower weight makes it a great race or speed day option while its comfort and cushion also make it a great daily trainer. Stability shoes in general have lacked innovation over the last few years; Saucony created something very compelling with the new Tempus.